Superman: The Man of Tomorrow
by Kai Brauns
Summary: A new take on the legend of the man of steel. The story of Clark Kent, growing up in Smallville, becoming Superman and learning about his origins.


Superman, Vol.1: The Man Of Tomorrow

By Kai Brauns

Based upon characters appearing in DC Comics Magazines

Superman created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

In 1983, there were people around the world, telling of a dream they had. They all used the same words in describing a strange visitor, who would come from the stars to save us all.

Prologue:

Kent Farm, Smallville, Kansas, USA; June 3rd, 1984.

Martha Clark Kent, a young woman of thirty years, sat next to the front door on a bench, stroking her round stomach, thinking of the little human being growing inside of it. The sky was grey, the first few winds were coming, announcing the storm. Martha's husband, Jonathan Kent, was busy nailing planks over windows. The animals were all save in the barn, except for Ben, the dog, who was jumping around Jonathan, barking and warning of the upcoming storm. Jonathan was just finished with the last window, when there was a long, loud thunder. _The storm must be pretty near by now,_ Jonathan thought, but then, the thunder became louder, and Jonathan looked up in the sky. Something huge was falling from the sky, hidden by a cloud of fire and smoke, aiming to land on the corn field. When it hit, the earth was moving, Jonathan held himself on the house front. He looked to Martha to make sure she was safe. The bench was holding Martha had one hand on the bench and the other on her stomach. The quake stopped, and Jonathan looked to the corn field. Smoke showed, where the meteorite – was it a meteorite! – landed. Quickly, the farmer went to the truck.

"What do you think you're doing!" Martha asked.

"What else? I'm going to see what that was. If it was a meteorite, the hurricane could pick it up and throw it against the house."

Martha stood up and went to the truck.

"What do _you_ think you're doing!" Jonathan asked.

"Making sure you won't risk anything. I don't want the kid to grow up without a father."

Jonathan shook his head, but knew he couldn't convince his wife to stay in the shelter. So he got behind the wheel and started the motor, as Martha sat next to him.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the crater. Jonathan got out and walked to the edge. What he saw at the centre of the crater was more than he was ready to believe. He looked back at his wife, tried to say something, but no sound escaped his mouth.

Slowly, he put one feet over the edge, then the other, and as fast as his stunned state allowed him to, he walked down to the silver ball at the centre of the crater. It was 2 metres in diameter, and was split in the middle. Jonathan walked around it. Then, he found something. At the side, there was a sign, engraved in the strange metal. It was shaped like the side-view of a diamond, with a stylized 'S' in it. The farmer held out his hand, touched the sign, and pulled his hand back. He had forgotten the heat. But although the touch was only short, something happened. The metal was melting. Jonathan watched in disbelief, as an infant came to view. He had his eyes closed, but was breathing. Jonathan stepped forward, noticing that the sign was the last thing from the ball. He picked it up and put it in his pocket, focusing again on the child. He looked like he was just born. Then slowly, the baby opened his eyes, looked up to Jonathan, and smiled. Jonathan didn't know what to do, he just put off his jacket and put it around the boy, picking him up. He wrapped it around the child and walked back up to the car. Behind him, there was no sign of the silver ball, but the crater. Back at the car, Martha opened the door, confused about the baby in Jonathan's arms.

"Jonathan, where does this child come from?"

Jonathan didn't know what to say, he just gave the boy to Martha and got in the car. He started the motor, as the wind outside got stronger. "We have to hurry, the storm is coming fast."

Martha looked at the infant, as he smiled up to her, with his glowing blue eyes. Martha could not do otherwise, she had to smile back at him, stroking his head.

They had nearly arrived, when the storm got to strong. The truck was pushed from the road and fell upside down. The baby cried. Jonathan looked at his wife. "Martha, is everything alright?"

Martha looked back at him with fearful eyes. "Jonathan, something's wrong."

General Hospital, Smallville; October 20th, 1989.

"Why is Ma at the hospital, Pa?" Young Clark sat next to his father in the corridor. "Is she hurt? Is my little brother or sister hurt?"

Jonathan smiled at his son. "Well, Clark, it's a little complicated. You know, giving birth to your little brother or sister does hurt Ma. And the doctors make sure that everything's alright."

"Does giving birth always hurt?"

"As far as I know, it hurts a lot."

Clark looked concerned. "I don't want Ma to be hurt. If giving birth hurts so much, why do women do give birth?"

Jonathan thought a little. "I guess I'm not really in the position to answer that, but… they got to think a child is worth the pain. And you know, I'd also take a lotta pain on me, if I knew I'd get a child like you." Jonathan smiled.

Clark smiled, too. He understood. Pa always could make him understand the strangest things.

Just then, little Lana Lang came around the corner, carried by her Aunt Ruth.

Jonathan stood up and put his arms around Ruth. "Hi, Ruth."  
"Hi, Jonathan. Sorry, I'm late."

"'s okay. Thanks for watching Clark."

Ruth shook her head smiling. "No problem. And now, go, before you miss the whole thing!"

Jonathan laughed, kissed Clark and went through the door.

Ruth sat down next to Clark. Lana looked at the young boy. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"I'm getting a little brother or sister," Clark said happily.

Chapter one: A secret origin

Kent Farm; August 2nd, 1999.

Clark was in his room staring at the wall. He sat there since an hour, not moving. Joe, his little brother, had tried to get a reaction from him half an hour ago, with no success. Now, Jonathan Kent was knocking at the open door. Clark did not look up.

"Hey, Clark," Jonathan said. "May I come in?" Clark did not respond, so Jonathan stepped in the room and sat on the bed next to Clark. "What's wrong, Son?"  
"I can see the barn."

Jonathan didn't understand. "The barn is behind the wall. You can't see it from your position."  
"I can," Clark said. "I can see through the wall."

Jonathan was stunned. "Clark, what in god's name are you talking about?"  
"Like I said, Pa. I can see through the wall. I can't even put it off."

"Clark, look at me."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Clark trembled a little. "If I do, I will see through your skin, through your flesh. I will see your inner organs, your skeleton. I can't put it off, Pa, and I don't want to see you like this."

"Clark, if you can see through the walls, I have a question." Jonathan paused. "Do you see the wall?"

Clark thought about the question. "Yes, I see it. I see it like always, but I also see through it."  
"So, you see the wall. Then, you will see me, too. You just will see a few things more than others."

Clark thought about it. He turned his head to his father and looked at him. He saw his eye balls, the nerves leading to his brain. He saw the flesh and every muscle. He saw the bones, and the teeth. And he also saw the face, the skin, the hair, and the smile. Clark smiled back. "You're right. I _do _see you."

Jonathan laughed. "You just make sure not to stare at the girls too much."

Clark laughed about his father's remark, but got silent again very quickly. "There's more, Pa."

Jonathan looked at his son. "Whatever it is, you can tell me about it."

"This morning, when I woke up… I was kinda… floating."

Jon sure was surprised. "Floating!"

Clark nodded. "Three feet above the bed."

The farmer sighed. "I guess it's time."

"Time for what?"

Jonathan put his hand to his pocket and pulled something out of it. It was some kind of metal, a diamond-shaped shield with a stylized 'S' engraved in it.

"What is this?"

"I don't know, Son," Jonathan said. "But it comes from the same place you came from."

Clark was confused. "What do you mean, 'where I came from'?"

Jonathan hesitated. "Well… Clark, the truth is… Martha and I are not… you're biological parents."

"What, you mean I'm adopted?"

"No… Yes… Kind of." Jonathan shook his head, searching for the right words. "But it's more complicated than that. You see, when we found you, your Ma was pregnant at the time. It was that time of the hurricane. I was just preparing the house for it, when something fell from the sky onto the corn field. You're Ma and I went to it, and there, I found you. You were inside… something. A space craft is my best guess, but I really don't know. It was melting before my very eyes, and inside of it… there were you. It seemed like you were born in this thing. We took you with us. We didn't talk about it, but when I was looking at you, I loved you right there. And I know your Ma felt the same way. Then, when we were driving back to the house, the storm kicked in, pushed us off the street. The baby your Ma was pregnant with died there. We still mourn over it, in some way. But we knew then, that we would keep you with us. You were like a gift from heaven.

"All that was left from that 'space craft' was this little sign."

"Pa, wait a minute," Clark said. "You try to tell me that I came to you with a UFO! You mean I'm some kind of alien?"

Jonathan put his arm over his son's shoulder. "Clark, I don't know where you came from. But I know that you are not alien. You may be from some laboratory, or another planet, or whatever. But to me there's no doubt about it that you are my son. And the son of my wife. We love you more than our very own lives. And whatever makes you different from us… we will figure it out together."

Clark nodded. It was still very much, but he knew that his father loved him. But there was still something. "So you kept my origin a secret. I guess I should keep my new abilities secret, too."

"Well, in general, yes. But not to everyone." Jonathan sighed again. "I have no illusions, Clark, if you want to be really close to someone, you have to tell this someone the truth. But…" He held up his index finger. "Only when you really trust this person. Don't go tell every friend from school about it, okay!"

Clark nodded. "We will tell Joe!"

"We will tell Joe, that's for sure."

Clark thought a little. "There are two more."

Chloe Sullivan opened the door and found Clark standing in front of her. "Hey, Clark," she smiled at him and put her arms around him, kissing him on his lips. "Couldn't wait till tonight to see me, huh!" Then she noticed how quiet he was. "What's up, Honey?"

Clark looked his girlfriend in the eyes. "Chloe, I love you."

"I love you, too, Clark," Chloe said worriedly.

"And I trust you with my life. That's why I have to tell you something." He looked around to see if someone was there who could overhear them.

"Is everything alright, Clark?" Chloe sure was worried, and that was visible in her eyes. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"No," Clark said. He hesitated, then said: "Not, if you won't want me to."

Chloe was confused. "Wh-why don't we go up to my room… and talk there."

Clark nodded and followed her inside, up the stairs and into her room. Chloe closed the door and leaned against the Antonio Banderas poster, looking at Clark with anticipating eyes. "Well?"  
"Maybe you should sit down first."

Chloe sighed and moved over to the couch. "Could you now tell me what this is all about?"

Clark took a second, and then he began. "I… come from… outside Smallville."  
Now Chloe was not worried, but outright confused. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"My Pa told me, just a few hours ago. I am not… like you."  
"C'mon, don't go all teenage angst on me."  
"No, I mean it." Clark thought again. "I guess, it's easier just to show you." He held out his arm. "Come here."

Chloe slowly stood up and walked to her boyfriend. "Show me what?"

Clark put his arms around her and held her tight. Then he lowered his head down to Chloe's, moved his lips to hers, he kissed her. Chloe closed her eyes, losing herself in the kiss. After a minute, Clark moved his head up again, looking her in the eyes as she opened them. Clark smiled. "Look."

Chloe again was confused, took a look around and quickly tightened her hold on Clark, as she now saw that they were floating a feet above the floor. "Clark, what…"

"It's me, Chloe," he said. Suddenly they flew a feet to the side. "I am doing this."  
"But, how?"

"I just can. I don't know how, I just think about it. When I woke up this morning, I was floating above the bed. Later, I found that I have some kind of… x-ray vision. My Pa told me, that I am not their real child, but that they found me inside of a UFO or something like that."

Chloe looked up at him. "This is… wow, I can't believe it. You are… I mean, this can't be real, if you come from some other planet, you'd have to look different, but you are… human. More than that, you are… superhuman."

Clark smiled. "I love you."

Chloe laughed, still feeling like inside of some fantasy. "You are amazing."

They kissed again, staying in the air for a whole while.

Joe looked at his father. "So, what you want to tell me is that Clark is… an alien?"

Jonathan sighed. "He is our son, just like you. And he is your brother. Maybe not by the genes, but by everything else."

"Wow," Lana said.

She sat with Joe and his parents at the kitchen table. For a moment nobody spoke. All was silent. "Where is he?"

Jonathan looked at his wife.

"He's over at Chloe's, telling her." Martha noticed Lana jerk at her answer. She knew that the girl had had a crush on Clark since they were little kids. Clark was a whole three and a half years older than her, but that never changed her feelings. For two years now, Clark had been with Chloe, but Lana still couldn't stand it. It got even more complicated when Jonathan told Martha that Joe apparently had a crush on Lana. Martha pitied them, but she also admired their young innocence.

"So, what happens now?" Joe asked.

"Nothing," Jonathan said. "We live our lives. And we keep the whole thing for us! God knows what'd happen if the people knew about Clark."

"Clark Joseph Kent, you definitely are not from this world," Chloe said, stroking over her boyfriend's chest.

"I take that as a compliment," Clark smiled. "You are amazing, too."

"Well, thanks, Superboy."

"Superboy!"

"Sorry, Clark, but you're not a man yet, so Nietzsche has to be bent a little."

Clark laughed. "You know, just a few hours ago, I was really freaked. I felt… isolated. Different. Alone. But Pa and you showed me, that I am not alone." He looked Chloe in the eyes.

She smiled. "You will never be alone."

_BoyGenius: "something changed."_

_DiseasedManiac: "what happened?"_

_BoyGenius: "clark is different. more than we thought."_

_DiseasedManiac: "tell me everything."_

A few days later, Clark was running home from school. He was so fast that, if one could see him at all, he was just a blur. This day, Clark had discovered his superhuman speed. The way from Smallville High, out of Smallville, over the fields and to the Kent farm only took him three minutes. By car, it normally was ten minutes. Clark enjoyed running at this speed. The day before he had noticed that his sight got sharper. When he was at school, he was now able to see all the way to the Kent farm. His hearing got better, too. Although every of his special powers were still new to him, he was not afraid of it anymore, but took them as a gift. And he wanted to put this gift to good use. When he was crossing Main Avenue, he pushed old Grampa Ross from the street to the sidewalk just before Jenny Smith could run over him with her car, since she was distracted by her six year old boy on the back seat.

When he reached the farm, Ben was running toward him, barking and waging his tail.

Martha looked out of the window and was surprised. "How did you get here so fast, Clark? If I remember correctly, class finished just a few minutes ago."  
Clark stepped up to the window and beamed at his mother. "I ran."

After homework, Clark decided to test his speed. He ran to the other end of town in just ten minutes. He turned around and ran around the town, back to the farm. On his way, he could hear a thousand things, cars honking, clocks ticking and people talking, but he kept on running. It was a great feeling, the wind blowing at his face. It was cool, but never got cold. Clark figured that it could mean that he grew resistant to temperature. Clark didn't know yet if he should like this or not. He had to see for the consequences.

Suddenly he froze. He turned around and looked toward the Sullivan's house. The blink of an eye later, the house exploded in a huge ball of fire. As fast as he could, Clark ran to the house, not stopping before it, but running inside the fire. He didn't care about the heat; he didn't notice that his skin did not burn. He was looking all over the place, until he saw something. He felt like dying, when he saw the three dead bodies. They were burned beyond recognition, but Clark knew who they were. He fell down to his knees, as tears ran down his face. Two minutes later, Jonathan arrived in his truck. He pulled his jacket over his head and ran into the place, to Clark. He took the boy by the shoulders and pulled him out of the burning ruins. Another minute later, the firemen arrived. Clark kept crying all day.

_BoyGenius: "all went well. they think it was a gas leak."_

_DiseasedManiac: "of course, they do. just as we planned. how is clark?"_

_BoyGenius: "didn't come out of his room all day."_

_DiseasedManiac: "perfect."_

The funeral was held four days after the fire. The Kents were the first in line. Clark looked down at the grave. His chest hurt more than anything he had experienced before. He hadn't paid attention to the reverend's speech. He didn't even notice all the pitying looks. He waited till all left. Only his family stayed. And he finally fell to his knees. Tears ran down his face. His father stepped behind him and crouched to be close to his face. "Clark, I know I can't imagine how you feel. Take your time, and know that we're here, whenever you need us."

Clark slowly opened his mouth. "All the things I can do… all those powers… and I couldn't even save her."

Jonathan put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Clark, it wasn't your fault."

"I could have done something. I could have listened for the gas leak. I could have taken a better look at the place. I would have found the leak. I could have saved her. Why were these powers given to me, if I couldn't even save the girl I love?"

"You didn't know, and you can't pay attention to every single thing in the world," Jonathan said. "You may be powerful. But you're no god. Now, take your time mourning. But come back to us. You know she wouldn't want you to blame yourself. She truly loved you. And as all who love, she only wanted the best for you."

Clark took his father's words. He knew he was right. It still took two weeks for him to smile again. In his young naivety he doubted to ever love another girl again. And he wouldn't for a long time.

After college, Clark travelled through the world. He met great men and women. He met the worst of all mankind. He saw people as happy as in Smallville. He saw people in poverty and misery. He wrote about it, and sent it to newspapers around the world. He learned many languages. And he used is powers to help those in need. But keeping them a secret, he noticed how limiting this was.

Finally, he travelled north. A few miles from the North Pole, Clark landed. This place was amazing. White as far as even he could see. The sky was bright, it would be for another four months. Now, Clark took the little shield out of a pocket of his bag. He looked at it, tracing the stylized 'S' with his index finger. He didn't know why, but he put the shield down onto the snow.

What happened next just blew his mind. The shield sank down, glowing. And around Clark, the ice began to move. Crystals grew out of the ice. After a few minutes, Clark was standing at the center of a gigantic crystalline fortress. When all was quiet and still, Clark took a few steps around, just looking at the place. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant head appeared in midair. Clark stared up to it. He recognized a man, a man who looked a lot like himself. And then, the head began to speak: "My name is Jor-El. The child that you hold in your arms is my son, Kal-El."

For a moment, Clark was confused. But then he realised that the message was late.

"Our people on Krypton are dying. To save him, we send you Kal-El. On Earth, he will be safe from the green death that's killing us. Please take care of him. I hate to send my son away from me, but it is his only chance to survive. I believe in my son, and I know that, if you take care of him, he eventually will take care of you. It saddens me that our first message to you will also be our last. And I pray to the mighty Spern, that Earth will adopt this last son of Krypton."

With this, the head disappeared. Clark still stared up to where Jor-El had been. Then he whispered: "Kal-El." He looked around. "Last son of Krypton." He sat down on the now crystalline ground. And he thought.

Kent Farm; Two weeks later.

Jonathan woke up at 5.30 in the morning. He got out of bed, walked to the window and pushed the shades aside. He jumped, as he saw Clark on the other side of the window, looking at him. The farmer opened the window. "Clark, don't you scare me like this ever again in the morning."

"Sorry, Pa. I didn't want to wake Ma and you, so I decided to wait out here."  
"You sure nobody has seen you?"

Clark smiled. "Nobody, Pa, with my enhanced senses, I would have noticed. Even the satellites are looking in another direction right now."

Jonathan shook his head. "Your powers sure grew with you."

"And I have more to tell you."

Thirty minutes later, Clark sat with his parents at the kitchen table, drinking some hot coffee. Jonathan and Martha were drinking coffee, that is. Clark had helped himself to a cup of hot chocolate. He didn't need much sleep anyway, so the caffeine wasn't really necessary, and he actually never got the taste for coffee.

He had just finished telling about the crystalline fortress and the message from Jor-El, when he finally paused.

"So, you actually come from another planet," Jonathan emphasized. "This is amazing."

"As far as Jor-El's message went, the planet I come from is dead now," Clark said. "I am all that's left from Krypton."

Martha held her son's hand. "We don't know that for sure, Clark. Maybe this 'Green Death' was cured after they send you here. Maybe other children were saved, too. There are many possibilities."  
"I know, Ma." Clark smiled. "But now for some other business."

Jonathan and Martha exchanged a confused look. Then Jonathan asked: "What?"

"When I travelled the world, and tried to help people, but keeping my powers a secret limited my possibilities."

Jonathan became concerned. "You wanna go public?"

"Kind of, yes. But not as Clark Kent. I still need time for myself, and I want a real life."

"What's your plan?" Martha asked.

Clark leaned forward. "A secret identity."

"What, you mean like the Shadow, or something?"

"Yes, but without the mask. I will appear strange enough with my powers, I can't wear a mask, if people are to trust me."

Jonathan thought a little. "Then, you have to mask your other self."

Two days later, Clark was prepared to leave for Metropolis. He had applied to the 'Daily Planet' a great metropolitan newspaper, and got an appointment with the Editor-in-chief. Now he was standing at the bus station, in a black suit – which was a little too big for him, to hide his muscles -, his hair combed back, his shoulders hanging, just like is head. And, to hide his amazing blue eyes and change the shape of his face a little, he wore a big pair of glasses. He looked back to his parents. "You think this will fool them?" he asked, with a softer, higher voice than usual, he also tried to get a little nervous sound.  
Jonathan smiled. "Only one way to find out."

"Say 'hi' to Joe, when you warn him about my plan."

"Will do," Martha said. "Goodbye."

"Bye." Clark walked over to the bus to Metropolis, carrying his big case.

_BoyGenius: "clark is planning on going public."_

_DiseasedManiac: "where?"_

_BoyGenius: "he's coming to your town."_

Clark arrived at the home of the greatest newspaper of Metropolis. Standing before the huge building – huge by Smallville standards, not by big city standards – he looked up to see the big spinning globe on top of the skyscraper. He enjoyed the view for a moment, then made his way through the people, inside of the building and up to the editorial floor.

Twenty minutes later, he sat in the E-I-C's office. The E-I-C, Perry White – who was a newspaper legend – stared at Clark. "I read your work, Son, and you better be glad about it."

Clark smiled nervously. "I am."

White took a cigar out of his vest pocket. "Good. Because from your appearance, I would have never guessed that you were a good reporter. Don't take me wrong, I am not a person to judge too early – something I learned in this business - , but you look more like a book-keeper."

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with that," Clark said enthusiastically.

White stared at the young man again. "I see. Well, as I said, I read some of your work. And you worked for my friend Stein, over in Germany, and he said you had what it takes. For the start, I will keep you as a freelancer. You are welcome in these rooms, and sometimes I send you on a story, but I want to see for myself, if you really are that good, before hiring you on staff."

"Thank you very much, Mr. White," Clark said, holding is hand out to the editor.

White shook the young reporter's hand. Kent stood up, bowed down a little while walking to the door. "I will go now and see if there is anything worth reporting about."

Perry White stared after the young man, shaking his head. "'Anything worth reporting about'. Either this guy is just weird, or he is a really clever journalist."

Clark walked toward the lift when he noticed a young teenager running after him.

"Mr. Clark," the young boy called him. "Wait!"

Clark turned around and waited for the boy. "Uh,… My name is Kent."

The boy's face got red. "Sorry, Mr. Kent. I'm Jimmy Olsen. I'm the copy boy, but I really want to become a photo reporter. And I thought, maybe we could work together. You know, you want a job as a writer, I want a job as a photographer."

Clark smiled shyly. "Well, maybe." He thought about it. "Maybe you should look up in the sky. You know, there is the big surprising news."

"What, you mean like a jet crash or something?"

Clark nodded. "Yes, something like that. Listen, I still got to get myself a phone, but I will be back here in the next few days, okay!"

Jimmy smiled. "Sure, Mr. Kent. I'll be here."

As Clark stepped out of the building and onto the street when he heard a scream. He looked up and saw a helicopter with the sign of the Daily Planet on its side. Inside, the pilot was unconscious, and the young woman next to him was screaming her lungs out. On the street nobody had noticed yet. Clark looked around and ran into a lonely side alley. There, he ripped his shirt open, revealing the sign with the stylized 'S' on his chest, only bigger and red on yellow ground. In a matter of milliseconds, Clark had changed, now wearing a skin-tight blue costume, with red boots on his feet, a red waist on his pants, which were held by a yellow belt. From his broad shoulders hang a long red cape, with the 'S' sign in yellow on the backside. He stood tall, the glasses were gone and a single s-shaped lock fell on his forehead. As he launched up in the sky, the cape flattered. He flew towards the falling helicopter.

Down in the streets, the people got aware of the helicopter. And now they something flying towards it. "Look, up in the sky!" called somebody.

"It's a bird!"

"Nah, too big for a bird. It's a plane!"

Jimmy Olsen stood among them, his camera focusing on the flying object. When he saw what it was, he couldn't believe it. He just kept shooting.

Clark had catched up to the helicopter by now and flew underneath it, catching it with his shoulders and slowing the fall. The woman instantly stopped screaming. "Easy, Miss," he called over the sounding wind. "I've got you."

"You've got me?" he heard the woman whispering. "Who's got you?"

Clark smiled. He had stopped the fall by now and carried the helicopter toward the landing place on the rooftop of the Planet Building, right next to the spinning globe. There, he put the copter down, got to the side door and looked at the woman. Now he really saw her close-up for the first time. She was very pretty, even after a situation like this. And when she look up to him, her brown eyes were beaming at him. A name tag read 'Lois Lane'. He had read some of her work. Clark smiled at her. He turned to some men coming towards them. "The pilot needs help." The men acknowledged this and went to help the pilot. Clark turned back to Miss Lane. "Now, I hope this little incident didn't put you off flying." The young reporter looked confused. "Statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel."

Lois nodded.

Clark turned away, ready to take off.

"Wait!"

He turned around again. Lois Lane had gotten out of the helicopter by now.

"Who are you?"

Clark smiled. "A friend."

"You're not just a friend. The things you did… You're definitely not from this world. You're a Superman."

His eyes beamed even more. "I take that as a compliment." He waved his hand and took off.


End file.
